Berkshire County Sheriff Tom Bowler was sworn in for a third six-year term at Berkshire County court house in Pittsfield, Massachusetts Wednesday. After 12 years on the job, he won a dominant victory in the September 2022 Democratic primary against challenger Alf Barbalunga. Bowler took his oath of office on the same day as close friend and political ally Timothy Shugrue, who won the Berkshire District Attorney race over incumbent Andrea Harrington in the same primary. WAMC caught up with Bowler just before his swearing-in to find out why he’s excited to work with Shugrue.
BOWLER: We have some challenges ahead of us. Obviously, we're still dealing with the COVID epidemic, or pandemic and we’ve still got the opioid crisis going on. But between the two of us, we're going to put our heads together and come up with some new ideas and ways to create a safer, healthier, and stronger community.
WAMC: Now, Mr. Shugrue, who won the DA race, ran on repairing what he described as a disconnect between law enforcement and the DA’s office- What does that mean, actually, on the ground for you guys to be a little closer than you and say, DA Harrington?
Well, Tim and I have a long-standing relationship. It goes back 50 years. So, I'm very confident that both our officers are going to work seamlessly together and try to accomplish the things we need to create a healthier community and safer community. And I'm looking forward to it, and I know he is. And we're going to, you know, it's going to be a good time, exciting time.
Let's talk about day one versus year one. You do have six years ahead of you- When you start looking at that canvas, so to speak, where do you start?
Day one? Starting now or from way back 12 years ago?
How about either? What do you think?
I think we've done a great deal since day, 12 years ago. We brought, become more community involved and engaged, and we're going to continue that for the next six years. And, you know, we'll see where we go in six years. And, you know, it's just going to be a fun time.
When we talk about policies in this first year, what are some things you want to roll out heading into 2023?
Probably stay with the same policies that we have been. We're going to see what the community- whatever the challenges are in the community are going to be challenges for us. So, we're going to attack those, just like we have other endeavors on future, past challenges. So, we'll be moving forward and committed and dedicated to this community.
I'm interested in the city spending here in Pittsfield on the homelessness issue, on creating new permanent housing for folks- Given that you so often handle people in the community who don't have housing, how will that impact the work you do at the sheriff's office?
It’s very difficult. That's a very difficult challenge. Housing has always been difficult, especially with the homeless. We'd love to be able to open up our Second Street facility. That would create a whole host of issues and problems for us with code regulations and the whole nine yards. But, you know, I anticipate that will assist in the future with some really cold and extreme weather that we’ll try and do something to open up the doors to Second Street. But it's a huge challenge with us with the new Second Street initiative that we have going. We find housing is very, very difficult, and it's getting more and more complex.
So lastly, with the swearing in of Timothy Shugrue today as DA, what do you want to see from the DA in the first few weeks of his tenure leading the top prosecutorial office here in the Berkshires?
Collaboration. I ran on that 12 years ago. It was key in my campaign, it’s been key to our success throughout my tenure as sheriff, and we're going to continue that collaboration between his office and my office and other law enforcement agencies- And other agencies, social service agencies as well.
